Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Summer 2013
Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.
Catalog Copy
Advanced Clinical Major
ADULT NURSE PRACTITIONER (ANP) Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
(currently not accepting applications)
These advanced practice registered nurses will be prepared to function as Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (ANP) (AGACNP). Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners provide primary care and specialty care to Adolescents, Adults and Elders evidence-based care to acutely ill adults with urgent and emergent complex health issues and critically ill adults with life threatening, rapidly changing physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Graduates with this option concentration will be eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioner (AANP) examination for Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners.
Additional Admission Requirements
1) Unencumbered license as a Registered Nurse in North Carolina
2) BSN degree from nationally accredited program is preferred. If the baccalaureate is not in nursing, the following courses from the RN to BSN program (or their equivalent) are required:
NURN 4100 Aging and Health
NURN 3108 Health Assessment for Nurses
(with Lab)
NURN 4203 Leadership in Nursing Practice
NURN 4440 Community Health Nursing
NURN 4900 Research in Nursing Practice
3) Total score of 950 on verbal and quantitative portions of Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or a
score of 400 on the Miller Analogy Test is preferred. Applicants with scores less that those
designated may be considered based on the total application profile. 293 on the revised GRE or 950 on the old GRE on verbal and quantitative portions is required. Millers Analogy Test is not accepted.
4) One year of professional nursing practice in acute/critical care following completion of an RN program.
5) Overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last degree and in the last 60 hours of nursing coursework.
6) Completion of an undergraduate statistics course with a grade of C or better.
6) 7) Statement of purpose in application packet should explain the applicant’s career goal in primary care relation to acute/critical care practice. Purpose statement should not exceed two double-spaced typed pages.
7) 8) References should be from professional colleagues and should speak to clinical knowledge and expertise and one's ability to function as a member of the healthcare team. At least one reference from a supervisory person is preferred.
Students are admitted annually for entry in the fall with applications due to the Graduate School by February 15.
Degree Requirements
The program requires completion of 44 47 semester credit hours in approved courses including:
Core Courses (9 hours)
NURS 6101 Theoretical Basis for Nursing Practice (3)
NURS 6160 Research in Nursing and Health Professions (3)
NURS 6115 Health Policy and Planning in the U.S. (3)
Cognate Courses (6 hours)
STAT 6127 Introduction to Biostatistics (3)
BIOL 6274 Pathophysiology (3)
Advanced Clinical Core (7 9 hours)
NURS 6220 Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
NURS 6230 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning for Advanced Practice (3)
NURS 6210 Family Health in Advanced Practice Nursing (2)
NURS 6430 Advanced Health Assessment Practicum (1)*
ANP AGACNP Specialty Courses (19 20 hours)
NUNP 6431 Advanced Acute Care Skills Lab (1)*
NUNP 6250 Advanced Primary Care and Health Promotion of Adults (3)
NUNP 6401 Advanced Practice Nursing inAmbulatory Care Care and Health Promotion Adults Practicum (4 2)*
NUNP 6240 Advanced Primary Care Reproductive Health (3)
NUNP 6202 Complex Healthcare Management of Adults (3)
NUNP 6203 Advanced Care of Critically Ill Adults (3)
NUNP 6402 Advanced Practice Nursing in Complex Care Practicum (4)*
NUNP 6403 Advanced Care of Critically Ill Practice Nursing in Specialty Care of Adults Practicum (2 4)*
Synthesis Project or Thesis (3 hours)
NURS 6601 Synthesis and Integration in Advanced Nursing Practice I (1)
NURS 6602 Synthesis and Integration in Advanced Nursing Practice II (2)
OR
NURS 6962 Thesis (3)
*Clinical Course that requires 60 hours practice for each 1 credit hours
Additional Degree Requirements
1) A minimum of 600 hours of supervised clinical experience as a Nurse Practitioner student is required.
2) Students may receive no more than one C grade in any graduate course. The second C will result in suspension from the program.
3) In order to progress in the specialty, a grade of B or better is required in the following courses:
- BIOL 6274 Pathophysiology
- NURS 6220 Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
- NURS 6230 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning for Advanced Practice (3)
- NURS 6430 Advanced Health Assessment Practicum (1)*
- All required courses with a NUNP prefix
4) Faculty advising is required.
Research Opportunities
Students who choose to do so will have the opportunity to serve as Research Assistants on faculty research projects. Students will have an opportunity to choose a mentored research experience in their Synthesis courses.
POST-MASTER’S CERTIFICATE
IN ADULT-GERONTOLOGY ACUTE CARE NURSE PRACTITIONER (ANP AGACNP)
(currently not accepting applications)
The Post-Master’s Certificate consists of specialty courses in advanced practice nursing (18 20 graduate credit hours). This certificate program will prepare nurses holding master’s degrees in nursing to enter advanced practice nursing as an adult nurse practitioner adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner. Nurses already certified as Psych NPs,Women’s Health or Pediatric NPs will be evaluated for possible exclusion of respective specialty courses and practica from their program. The recipients of this certificate will be eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) examination for Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners. Coursework must be completed within four years and a 3.0 (B) grade point average is required.
Admission Requirements:
1) A master’s degree in nursing from a nationally accredited nursing program
2) Written application to graduate admissions
3)2) Unencumbered North Carolina License as a Registered Nurse
4)3) Official transcripts from a Master’s degree
4) Total score of 293 on the revised GRE or 950 on the old GRE on verbal and quantitative portions is required
5) Overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the MSN degree
6) Statement of purpose in application packet should explain the applicant’s career goal in primary care relation to acute/critical care practice. Purpose statement should not exceed two double-spaced typed pages.
7) References should be from professional colleagues and should speak to clinical knowledge and expertise and one's ability to function as a member of the healthcare team. At least one reference from a supervisory person is preferred.
5)8) Graduate Health Assessment course equivalent within the last 3 5 years**
6)9) Graduate Pharmacology course equivalent within the last 3 5 years**
7)10) Graduate Pathophysiology within the last 3 5 years**
**Nurses certified as Women’s Health Adult or Family nurse practitioners, Psych NPs nurse practitioners, or Pediatric nurse practitioners may have these courses waived from the admission requirements after assessment of transcripts.
Certificate Requirements:
NUNP 6202 Complex Healthcare management of Adults (3)
NUNP 6203 Advanced Care of Critically Ill Adults (3)
NUNP 6240 Advanced Primary Care Reproductive Health (3)***
NUNP 6250 Advanced Primary Care and Health Promotion of Adults (3)
NUNP 6401 Advanced Practice Nursing inAmbulatory Care Care and Health Promotion Adults Practicum (4 2)**** ***
NUNP 6402 Advanced Practice Nursing in Complex Care Practicum (4)****
NUNP 6403 Advanced Care of Critically Ill Practice Nursing in Specialty Care of Adults Practicum (2 4)**** ***
NUNP 6431 Advanced Acute Care Skills Lab (1)***
Note: Nurses with other backgrounds will be evaluated on an individual basis
***Nurses certified as Women’s Health nurse practitioners will not be required to take this course.
**** ***Clinical Course that requires 60 hours practice for each 1 credit hour
Students are admitted annually for part-time study with entry in the summer. fall with applications. Applications are due to the Graduate School by February 15. Plan of study will be individualized based on course availability.
Course Descriptions
NURS 6210. Family Health in Advanced Practice Nursing. (2) Provides an overview of the family as the basic unit of advanced nursing care. Focuses on strategies of family assessment, family empowerment, and family health promotion. Includes reviews of relevant theories, concepts and research for the assessment and management of family health and the analysis of the socio-cultural context of families. (Spring) (Online)
NURS 6220. Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice. (3) Principles of pharmacology and drug therapy for advanced nursing practice including legal and social considerations related to prescriptive authority and prescribing patterns. Satisfies NC Board of Nursing requirements for nurse practitioner. (Fall)(Evening)(On campus)
NURS 6230. Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning for Advanced Practice. (3) Pre- requisite or corequisite: BIOL 6274 or BIOL 6273. Corequisite: NURS 6430. This course provides knowledge and skills necessary for advanced practice nurses to synthesize concepts from nursing and the biopsychosocial sciences in the comprehensive health assessment of adults and children. The diagnostic reasoning process, differential diagnosis, advanced health evaluation techniques, laboratory tests, diagnostic studies and interpretation and evaluation of findings are incorporated into the course. The development of collaborative relationships between the nurse practitioner role and the nurse anesthetist role are developed through analysis of case studies. (Spring) (Day)(On Campus)
NURS 6430. Advanced Health Assessment Practicum. (1) Pre-requisite or corequisite: BIOL 6274 or BIOL 6273. Corequisite: NURS 6230. This clinical practicum is designed to provide an opportunity for students to practice advanced health assessment skills on clients across the lifespan. Comprehensive health histories and physical examination techniques are used to complete a database on clients to formulate differential diagnoses and make advanced clinical decisions (60 lab/clinical hours). (Spring)(Day) (On campus)
NUNP 6202. Complex Healthcare Management of Adults. (3) Prerequisite: NUNP 6250. This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate knowledge from advanced assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics, theory and research to provide the advanced practice nurse with the requisite skills in the management of acutely ill adults with chronic illness in a variety of settings. Emphasis is placed on the use of diagnostic reasoning skills in the assessment, diagnosis, and plan of care including pharmacological, and non-pharmacological management of acutely ill adults with chronic illness urgent and emergent complex health issues. Application of models and theories to guide advanced nursing practice and planned research based evidence-based care of the adult with acute and/or chronic illness is expected in order to promote quality outcomes. (Fall) (Evening) (On demand campus)
NUNP 6203 Advanced Care of Critically Ill Adults. (3) Pre-requisites: NUNP 6202; NUNP 6250.
This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate knowledge from advanced assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics, theory, and research to provide the advanced practice nurse with the requisite skills in the management of critically ill adults in a variety of environments. Emphasis is placed on the use of diagnostic reasoning skills in the assessment, diagnosis, and plan of care including pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of critically ill adults with life threatening, rapidly changing physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Application of models and theories to guide advanced nursing practice and planned evidence-based care of adult with critical illness is expected in order to promote quality outcomes (240 supervised clinical hours). (Spring) (Evening) (On campus)
NUNP 6250. Advanced Primary Care and Health Promotion of Adults Across the Lifespan. (3) Prerequisites: NURS 6230, NURS 6430, and NURS 6220. This course will build on knowledge of advanced assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics, and theory and research to provide the advance practice nurse with the framework to manage adults with chronic illness in the ambulatory healthcare settings. Emphasis is placed on a wellness focus in the care of adults throughout the life span with common reoccurring acute illnesses and stable chronic conditions. Models of health promotion, disease prevention, health education and wellness will be used to guide the advanced practice nurse in assessing, diagnosing and planning care for adults. The case study approach will be used as a framework to implement the diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making process. (Fall) (Evening)(On campus)
NUNP 6401. Advanced Practice Nursing in Ambulatory Care Care and Health Promotion Adults Practicum. (4 2) Pre- or corequisites: NUNP 6250 and NUNP 6240. Emphasis on the role of the advanced practice nurse in promoting healthy life-styles to prevent or minimize the effects of chronic illness. Students will incorporate critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning in assessing, diagnosing, monitoring, coordinating, managing outcomes and communicating healthcare findings of adults and their families in ambulatory care settings (240 120 supervised clinical hours). (Fall) (Individually Arranged) (On demand campus)
NUNP 6402. Advanced Practice Nursing in Complex Care Practicum. (4) Pre- or corequisite: NUNP 6202. This clinical course focuses on treatment and outcome management of complexly acutely ill clients with multi-system problems. Emphasis on the role of the advanced practice nurse in helping complexly acutely ill adults manage the effects of urgent and emergent complex health issues and achieve optimum outcomes in chronic illness quality outcomes. (Spring) (Individually Arranged) (On demand campus)
NUNP 6403. Advanced Care of Critically Ill Practice Nursing in Specialty Care of Adults Practicum. (2 4) Prerequisite: NUNP 6402. This clinical course focuses on outcome management of critically ill adults with life threatening, rapidly changing physiological and pathophysiological conditions in specialty care settings of the student’s choice with faculty approval. Emphasis is on the role of the advanced practice nurse in developing, implementing and evaluating advanced care of critically ill adults. Clinical experiences are designed to provide opportunities for application of evidence-based practice in management and delivery of evidence-based care for , quality assurance and achievement of optimum quality outcomes in practice settings a variety of care environments (120 240 supervised clinical hours). (Summer) (Individually Arranged) (On demand campus)
NUNP 6431 Advanced Acute Care Skills Lab. (1) Pre-requisite or corequisite: NURS 6230; NURS 6430. This clinical practicum is designed to provide an opportunity for students to learn and practice commonly encountered advanced critical care skills required for performing assessments and technical procedures on acutely and critically ill adults (60 lab/clinical hours). (Summer) (Day) (On Campus)